Sachin Tendulkar's contributions to Indian Cricket apart from his batting

Innumerable players played cricket and made themselves famous. Then there is Sachin Tendulkar who played cricket and made cricket famous. That's the influence that the genius wielded on the world.

Sachin Tendulkar is not just a name, but an emotion in World Cricket. It is a name synonymous with perfection, class and grace. Master Blaster was (and continues to be) the heartthrob of a billion Indians since the turn of the 1990s, as he carried a nation's expectations with him for more than two decades.

Sachin's career was largely about defying the odds as he redefined the benchmarks for brilliance, consistency, and longevity. He testified the fact of age being just a number, debuting at 16 and retiring at 40, giving us 24 unblemished years to cherish for ages to come.

He inspired a whole new generation to take up the sport with his contagious passion, including the likes of Virendra Sehwag, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli. 34,357 runs, 100 hundreds and 76 Man of the Match awards, Sachin's contribution to the game was far superior than these statistics suggest. He left an everlasting impact on the game of cricket, with a charisma that can never be recreated.

The Golden Arm

We would have been denied the privilege of witnessing the most quintessential batsmen had it not been a piece of advice from Australian great Dennis Lillee. The Master wanted to become a fast bowler until he tried his fortunes with the bat and the rest is history.

Despite being the most iconic batsman of India for over two decades, Sachin made vital contributions with the ball on numerous occasions, and bowling spell proved to be defining moments for the team.

Sachin Tendulkar took 201 wickets across formats for India

Able to bowl medium pace, leg break and off break, he was often called by his captain to break the mammoth stands by opposition batsmen. Sachin had a golden arm, and was instrumental in breaking crucial partnerships.

Sachin was particularly spectacular at Kochi, as he claimed both his ODI 5 wicket hauls at the venue. Being dismissed cheaply on both occasions, Sachin weaved his aura with the ball, as he ran through the opposition's batting line up. While he derailed an Australian run chase in the first instance in 2001, it was Pakistan at the receiving end on the second occasion in 2005.

The legend also chipped in on various important occasions in Tests, including 3 valuable scalps of Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne in the iconic Test against Australia in Eden Gardens.

Sachin remains the only bowler to defend 6 or fewer runs in the last over of an ODI twice. What's more astonishing, he had not bowled before on both the occasions. Undoubtedly, his best effort with the cherry was his heroic last over in the 1993 Hero Cup Semi-Final versus South Africa, defending 6 runs in a tense final over.

Tendulkar finished with 201 wickets across formats for India, with 154 scalps in ODIs, 46 in Tests and a solitary wicket in T20Is.

Regulating the Team Temperament in the ICC World Cup 2011

The 2011 World Cup was an epoch-making event, as it was being held in the subcontinent after a span of 15 years, and was supposed to be the last World Cup of Sachin Tendulkar. The players, the fraternity as well as the cricket fanatics were emotionally charged.

Sachin had earned a demigod status by then, and had more than double the experience of other players. Having played five editions of the multilateral tournament without success, it was no hiding that the Master was resolved to lay his hands on cricket's most coveted silverware.

Though the talismanic batsman ended as India's highest run-getter, his contribution to the Indian triumph was much more than that. As the most experienced player in the side, he ushered a sense of security and stability as well as shared nuggets of wisdom with the team.

His guidance turned out to be most fruitful on three occasions - in the games against South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The group stage match against South Africa saw a dismal collapse to the Indian innings from the driver's seat, as they lost 8 wickets for a paltry 29 runs, and were bowled out inside 50 overs. It was then that Sachin reprimanded the side and asked the middle order to step up with more responsibility. This chiding worked wonders, as the middle order anchored the victories in the remaining matches.

India v Pakistan - 2011 ICC World Cup Semi-Final

In the Semi-Final clash versus arch-rivals Pakistan, the players had been frustrated due to the late arrival of lunch, as it reached the venue at the time of toss. Once again, Sachin steered the focus of his teammates to eye a historic spot in the final, motivating the players to satisfy their hunger on the ground. What followed was an inspired team performance, as India beat Pakistan to advance into the finals.

There was a controversy resulting in a repeat of toss

The summit clash between India and Sri Lanka was spectacled with the toss controversy, as Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara made an inaudible call, forcing the toss to take place again; a rare and astonishing event considering the enormity of the occasion.

The Indians were livid at this act, citing compromise of sportsmanship. It was Tendulkar who once again calmed the dressing room nerves and ushered a sense of tranquillity.

Inclusion of Yuvraj Singh in 2011 World Cup squad

Sachin served as a continuous source of inspiration for Yuvraj

Yuvraj Singh was going through a lean patch in 2010, as he managed just 349 in 15 matches at an average of 31.73. With the all-important World Cup scheduled next year, and with the promise of young talents like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yusuf Pathan, Yuvraj's inclusion in the squad was a major question staring at the face of the captain and the management.

Believing in the game-changing abilities of the southpaw, captain MS Dhoni, backed with strong support from Sachin Tendulkar, ensured the inclusion of Yuvraj Singh in the 15 man squad. However, to aggravate the situation, Yuvi was suffering from cancer, something that he himself was not aware of.

As Yuvraj registered his health concerns to the batting legend, Sachin responded, " You will matter when it matters the most. "

Yuvraj Singh won the Man of the Tournament award in the 2011 World Cup

And the stylish southpaw responded in the best manner - 362 runs and 15 wickets along with 4 consecutive Man of the Match performances. He seemed to be undeterred by all the circumstances and overpowering his illness. Yuvraj claimed the Man of the Tournament award for his exploits with the bat and ball.

Recommending MS Dhoni as the Captain

Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni

Well, there is no explanation needed for this. The biggest contribution of the maestro to Indian Cricket, might be, even at par with his batting. All this started in 2007, when India had a disastrous World Cup outing. Rahul Dravid stepped down from captaincy in September post the England tour, just a week ahead of the inaugural T20 World Cup.

With Ganguly dropped as captain the previous year, and the team plagued by rifts during the tenure of Greg Chappel, the selectors entrusted Sachin Tendulkar the responsibility to reinstate Indian Cricket on the world map. However, Tendulkar declined in the favour of MS Dhoni, and the rest is history.

Dhoni vindicated the maestro's faith in him by leading a young bunch of players to the zenith of the shortest format of the game, 10 days after taking over the team reins. He did not stop there, as he marshalled the team to World Cup glory and Champions Trophy victory, becoming the first and only captain till date to win all 3 ICC trophies.

MS Dhoni is the only captain to win all major ICC Trophies

India emerged as one of the fiercest competitors under Dhoni's leadership, as the wicketkeeper-batsman transitioned the team with a blend of senior stalwarts and young blood. Subsequently taking over the Test reins from Anil Kumble, MSD led India to the top of ICC Test Rankings for the first time.

Dhoni carved a niche for India, groomed many youngsters, re-engineered the work ethics to establish India at the pedestal of world cricket, which makes this contribution of Tendulkar most noteworthy.